Montco jury acquits man of rape in incident with Telford woman

NORRISTOWN — A Bucks County man showed no emotion as a Montgomery County jury acquitted him of sexual assault-related charges in connection with his contact with a Telford woman after a day of drinking alcohol at her home and a local bar.

Paul Kerry Wilson II, 29, of Hickory Drive, Quakertown, stood quietly as the jury acquitted him of charges of rape of an unconscious person, sexual assault and indecent exposure in connection with a May 24, 2013, incident at a female friend’s home along West Broad Street in Telford. During the trial, Wilson claimed the sexual contact was consensual.

“I applaud the jury on coming up with what I think is the right decision. It was a tough case for everyone involved,” said defense lawyer George Griffith Jr., who during the trial argued Wilson had consensual sex with the woman with whom he shared a friendship of more than 10 years. “I think in his heart he feels relief. He’s got to be feeling relief at this point in time.”

The 27-year-old woman, who prosecutors had alleged was sexually assaulted by Wilson, showed no emotion in court as the verdict was announced. However, as she left the courthouse with a friend she clutched a tissue and appeared to be weeping.

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“The commonwealth respects the jury’s verdict and we stand by all the evidence that was put forth at this trial,” said Assistant District Attorney Sophia Polites, reacting to the verdict.

The jury, which deliberated about two hours, convicted Wilson of a single misdemeanor charge of corruption of a minor, essentially finding that Wilson had sexual contact with the woman in view of a 7-year-old child who was in the home at the time. The little girl testified at trial that she observed Wilson having sexual contact with the woman and was frightened by what she observed.

Judge Thomas P. Rogers, who presided over the trial, will sentence Wilson at a later date on the corruption of minor charge. Griffith indicated he will seek a time served sentence for Wilson, who has been in jail for about 14 months while awaiting trial.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged the assault occurred in the woman’s home after Wilson and the woman spent the day drinking alcohol, initially at the woman’s home, and later at a local bar. Testimony revealed genetic tests linked Wilson to having sexual contact with the woman.

During her testimony at trial, the sobbing woman told the jury that she was “confused” when she was awakened by police who responded to her home for a “well-being check” and found her unconscious. The woman had no recollection of being assaulted. But the woman, who is married, testified she never has had sex with Wilson and that she never would have consented to sex with Wilson who was visiting her apartment that day.

The little girl who was in the home at the time of the encounter testified she initially had observed the woman sleeping on a couch and couldn’t get the woman to wake up. Later, the child testified, she walked into the living room where she observed Wilson, with his pants pulled down, having physical contact with the woman.

While the incident was investigated by Telford police, Pottstown Detective Heather Long assisted during the investigation as the “forensic interviewer” of the child witness. Long, testifying for prosecutors, said the girl disclosed what she had observed and told her that she “took a deep breath” because she “had never seen anything like that before.”

When Wilson stepped into the witness box on Tuesday, he claimed he and the woman had consensual sex after they left the bar and returned to the woman’s home.

“It got playful. By the time we got to the house it turned into sex. Both of us were wide awake,” Wilson told jurors, adding, he “felt like an idiot” when he realized a child was in the house and observed the sexual situation.

Wilson also testified that he and the woman, who he had known since he was 17, had sexual relations on several occasions during the course of their friendship dating back to 2003, contradicting the woman’s testimony that the two never had sex. Wilson’s father, Paul Wilson Sr., testified he stumbled upon his son and the woman having sex in his camper on two occasions in the mid-2000s.

“They would get drunk. They would have sex,” argued Griffith, implying that was the nature of Wilson’s friendship with the woman.

Telford Police Officer Brett Popiny testified he responded to the woman’s apartment about 6 p.m. after police received a request for a “well-being check” from a 911 caller who, according to testimony, reported stopping by the woman’s home, observing suspicious activity and removing the child from the home. When Popiny and assisting Franconia Police Officer Eric Frary arrived they observed a man, later determined to be Wilson, on the front steps of the residence smoking, according to testimony.

Wilson ran inside the building and the officers testified he was uncooperative and wouldn’t tell police his full name when they encountered him outside an apartment door, which was partially open. Police said that when they asked Wilson if anyone inside the apartment needed help, Wilson responded “No,” and officers noted that he smelled of alcohol and appeared “intoxicated.” When the officers peered inside they observed a motionless woman on a couch in the living room, a blanket draped over the lower half of her body.

Police officers testified they initially believed the woman was dead, adding she did not respond to voice commands, light stimulation or touch.

One officer testified he found the woman’s underwear around one ankle. Responding medical personnel and police were able to revive the woman after about 10 minutes, and she appeared disoriented and unaware of her state of dress, police testified.

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.